1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a communications system, and, more particularly, to performing authentication in a wireless communications system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Masquerading and eavesdropping are potential threats to the security of wireless communications. To provide proper protection for communication over a wireless link, it is desirable to first authenticate the communicating devices and then to encrypt contents of the communications. Several well known protocols have been proposed by standards bodies in recent years to authenticate the identity of the remote party. One such protocol currently under consideration is the Extensible Authentication Protocol for authentication and session key distribution using the Global System for Mobile (GSM) Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). This protocol is hereinafter referred to as the EAP-SIM protocol.
The EAP-SIM protocol is based on proposed enhancements to existing Global System for Mobile communications authentication procedures. The EAP-SIM protocol specifies a mechanism for mutual authentication and session key agreement using the GSM System Identity Module. For mutual authentication, the client and the server must prove their respective identities to each other before performing any application functions. The central principal of mutual authentication is that neither party must “trust” the other before identity has been proven.
The GSM network authenticates the identity of the subscriber based on a challenge-response mechanism. The GSM network sends a 128-bit random number (RAND) challenge to a mobile station. The mobile station computes a 32-bit signed response (SRES) and a 64-bit cipher key, Kc based on the random number (RAND) using an individual subscriber authentication key (Ki). The mobile station then transmits the SRES to the GSM network. Upon receiving the SRES from the mobile station, the GSM network repeats the calculation to verify the identity of the mobile station. Note that the individual subscriber authentication key (Ki) is never transmitted over the radio channel. It is present in the mobile station, as well as in the database of the service network. If the received SRES agrees with the calculated value, the mobile station has been successfully authenticated, and thus, the communication may continue. If the values do not match, the connection is terminated and an authentication failure is indicated to the mobile station.
The GSM network, as described above, thus utilizes a single RAND challenge to authenticate the identity of the mobile station. The EAP-SIM protocol, based on the authentication procedures of GSM, specifies a mechanism for mutual authentication using a 64-bit cipher key, Kc. Performing mutual authentication based on a 64-bit key, however, may not provide the desired security level as would otherwise be provided by, for example, a 96-bit or a 128-bit key. In an effort to offer a more secure authentication mechanism, the EAP-SIM protocol states that up to three (3) RAND challenges, and thus up to three 64-bit keys Kc, may be utilized during the authentication procedure. The three 64-bit keys, when combined, result in a 192-bit key, which should presumably provide increased security. However, simply combining a plurality of cipher keys does not necessarily result in increased security because an impersonator (or unscrupulous party) may still be able to successfully perform authentication with a mobile station based on correctly guessing the value of a 64-bit key. This is because the EAP-SIM protocol does not require that each RAND challenge (and thus each Kc key) be unique for a given set of triplets. An impersonator can thus establish an unauthorized session, and thereby carry on a full conversation, with a mobile station by first correctly guessing a value of a single 64-bit cipher key and then using multiple copies of that key to authenticate itself to the mobile station.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing, the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.